Ch. 22.2 — The wheels of the cart creaked as they crept up the steep road that corkscrewed back and forth up into the mountains. Janine felt sorry for the little donkey that had to pull such a heavy load, so she got out and walked beside him. Sometimes she pushed the mail cart from behind.
“Thank you so much,” gasped the donkey. “This part of the road is always the hardest.”
At last they reached the path that led up to the dragon’s caves. Mr. Dumfries pulled on the reins. “Whoa, there, Bernie.” He handed Janine’s belongings to her and frowned. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind? If you want a job that bad, you could work for me.”
“I’m sure,” Janine said.
Just then they heard the scrabble of little feet, and Janine was almost bowled over by a short, thin person with a long, drooping nose, pointed ears, and anxious brown eyes. He wore a green jacket over his plain brown clothing. “Oh, Mr. Dumfries, I’m so glad you’re here. Do you have any mail for me or the dragon?”
Mr. Dumfries handed him a stack of letters. “Hello, Fritter. Here you go.”
Fritter shuffled through the mail. “Bills, bills and more bills. Oh, when will it come?”
“What are you waiting for?” Mr. Dumfries asked.
“Jay sent a poem in to the Royal Astronomical Poetry Contest. The winner gets ten gold coins and a star named after them. They still haven’t responded, and he’s beginning to get restless.”
Mr. Dumfries opened another sack and shuffled around. “Hmmm. Know it’s in here somewhere. Ah, here we go. Sorry about that. It got stuck in with the advertising.” He handed Fritter an envelope.
Fritter danced with glee. He tore it open and scanned the contents. His joy evaporated. His shoulders slumped, and his face sagged. “Oh, well.” He sniffed. “I guess he could enter again next year.”
Carol Nicolas 